Certain vehicle systems include a vehicle component that is mounted in the engine compartment of the vehicle, but to which frequent access is required. Vehicles having internal combustion engines that utilize alcohol-based biofuels, such as ethanol or ethanol-gasoline blends as their primary fuel are well known. However, in vehicles that utilize some alcohol-based biofuels such as pure ethanol or high ethanol content blends as their primary fuel, it is difficult to induce combustion of the primary fuel when starting the engine from a cold-start condition. Thus, it is known to supply gasoline to the engine when starting the engine during a cold-start condition.
To supply gasoline to the internal combustion engine of an ethanol burning vehicle during engine startup, ethanol-burning vehicles often include a supplemental fluid storage tank for storing gasoline. The supplemental fluid storage tank is located in the engine compartment of the vehicle, and is mounted either to an internal wall of the engine compartment or to a portion of the engine itself. The supplemental fluid storage tank is generally small in volume, since it supplies gasoline to the engine only when the engine is starting.
As another example, diesel internal combustion engines can be provided with emission control systems that utilize urea as a reactant to reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gases of the diesel engine. In such systems, it is common to mount a fluid storage tank for storing urea in the engine compartment of the vehicle.
Filling the supplemental fluid storage tank of an ethanol burning vehicle typically involves opening the hood of the vehicle, since a dedicated access to the fluid filler tubes of the supplemental fluid storage tank is generally not provided. While fluid filler tubes for engine compartment mounted fluid storage tanks have previously been provided in the cowling below the windshield of the vehicle, doing so limits the acceptable mounting locations for the supplemental fluid storage tank, and may not be feasible in light of pre-existing design constraints. It is also known to provide a fluid filler tube that extends through an aperture in the hood. However, to prevent interference between the fluid filler tube and the hood when the hood is moved between open and closed positions, the aperture must be oversized, and the hood and the fluid filler tube must be installed to close tolerances.
As a further example, electric vehicles or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles may include an electrical charging receptacle that is provided within the engine compartment of the vehicle. Providing such a receptacle so that it extends through the hood would be impractical, for the reasons stated in connection with fluid filler tubes, and further for the reason that the electric receptacle needs to be protected from the elements.